Page 48

DIN

T he noise hit Din before he'd even fully entered Kyra's house—a cacophony of voices, laughter, and the distinctive chaos that only a gathering of children could produce. He paused in the doorway, momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer energy contained within the living room.

"Din! Fenella!" Kyra's voice cut through the commotion as she waved them over. "Come in."

This was a celebration of Max's safe return, and Kyra had invited the entire family, which in her case was a small clan. All of her sisters and their kids were there, and also Jasmine and Ell-rom.

The house had been transformed into what looked like a Persian feast. Every available surface held platters of food—fragrant rice dishes, stews that filled the air with saffron and herbs, flatbreads still warm from the oven, and an array of sweets that had the younger children circling like hungry sharks.

Din felt distinctly out of place.

His experience with children was limited, and he had never been comfortable around them. Although he had to admit that there was a positive energy in the joyful chaos, with kids ranging from toddlers to teenagers all talking over each other and buzzing around like wind-up toys.

"Here." Max pressed a cold beer into his hand. "You look like you need this."

"Thanks." Din took a grateful sip. "Quite the gathering." He lifted his beer and clinked it with Max's. "Congratulations on the mission. I understand that everything went well?"

"There were a few hitches, but the objectives were achieved.

We had a surprise visitor, and we feared that there was a fifth cell somewhere, but Kian took Toven to the keep to interrogate him, and it turned out that he was just a recent arrival.

For now, there will be no terror attacks in the greater Los Angeles area, but we need to stay alert.

Once the idea gets into their heads, they will keep trying. "

"Well, thank the merciful Fates that this time you got them all." Din clinked Max's bottle again and took a long swig from his.

Max's face lit up as he surveyed the controlled chaos. "Isn't this great? I love big families. When I fell for Kyra, I had no idea I was getting an entire clan as part of the deal." He grinned. "Best bonus package ever."

Din watched as one of the smaller boys chased his brother around the coffee table, nearly upending a plate of cookies in the process. Yasmin scooped them both up with a mother's ease, redirecting their energy toward the pile of toys in the corner.

"I can see the appeal," Din said diplomatically, though privately he wondered how anyone maintained sanity in such an environment.

His gaze found Fenella across the room, and his chest tightened with familiar warmth.

She sat on the floor surrounded by a gaggle of girls, from a tiny one in a pretty, girly dress to four teenagers in jeans and T-shirts who looked like they had been born and bred in California and not recent arrivals from a country that restricted the freedoms of women.

Each of them held out an object and was asking for a reading.

Fenella took the doll that the small girl handed her. "This is a brave warrior," she said solemnly, holding up the doll. "She has been through many battles at tea parties. She's been force-fed seventeen thousand cups of imaginary tea and lived to tell the tale, but she asks to be fed no more."

The girls dissolved into giggles, and even serious Arezoo cracked a smile from her perch on the arm of the sofa.

"She looks happy," Max observed, following Din's gaze.

"She does. Last night, she was terrified for you and the other Guardians."

"She told you that?"

"She didn't have to." Din took another sip of his beer. "She barely managed any readings, and when we got home, she couldn't sleep. When you texted me this morning that it was all done and everyone was safe, she cried in relief."

Max shifted uncomfortably. "I told her that we would be fine. We were never in any real danger."

"Bullshit," Din said. "But I appreciate the attempt at reassurance."

For a long moment, they stood side by side, watching the chaos. It was quite entertaining, but the noise was fatiguing, and Din was contemplating how long they needed to stay not to offend anyone.

"Can you believe what almost happened?" Max's voice dropped. "If we hadn't stumbled upon that guy in the market…"

"Thank the merciful Fates that you did."

Din had never been particularly spiritual, but recent events had made him reconsider. "Maybe it was all fated."

Max nodded, taking another swig from his bottle of Snake Venom.

"Uncle Max!" One of the boys tugged at Max's jeans. "Come see what we built!"

"Duty calls," Max said with a grin, allowing himself to be dragged toward a block construction in the corner of the living room.

"Uncle Max." Din chuckled. "I never thought I'd hear anyone calling him that."

"You look a bit overwhelmed." Fenella slipped her hand into his.

"Can you blame me?" He waved his beer bottle at the crowded living room.

She laughed. "Want to escape to the porch for a minute?"

"Fates, yes."

They slipped out the sliding door onto the patio. The evening air was cooler, quieter, though the sounds of the celebration still filtered through the glass.

"Big families can be overwhelming." Fenella leaned against the railing. "I'm not used to that either, but it's nice, in small doses, that is. After a while, all I want is to get away from the noise."

"Speaking of getting away. Has anyone made arrangements for the Egypt trip? Given everything that happened?"

"No one's told me anything, but I assume that Kian had his hands full with preventing his city from exploding."

"Are you disappointed?"

She tilted her head. "No, I'm glad. It gives me more time at the Hobbit." A smile played at her lips. "I like what I do there."

"My mate is the village's latest celebrity," Din teased.

She arched a brow. "Mate?"

"I mean girlfriend. It's just that no one uses that term around here."

"I like the sound of mate. It's like a romantic partner who is also a friend."

Din let out a relieved breath. "Good. I was afraid I scared you with that slip-up."

"We should go back in," Fenella said after a moment. "The food is incredible, and Rana will be offended if we don't have thirds."

"Thirds? I didn't have firsts yet."

"Then we definitely need to get you started."

Din groaned. "I don't know if I can handle thirds."

"I'm sure you'll survive."

When they rejoined the celebration, Din got pulled into a conversation with Soraya about the grocery store plans. Her enthusiasm was infectious as she described their vision for bringing authentic Persian products to the village.

"The architect is ready to show us some preliminary drawings for the building," she said. "I'm so excited."

"So am I," Rana said. "I can't believe that Kian had time to even call the architect with everything that was going on. I'm just glad that it's over and we can go back to making big plans." She rubbed her hands. "Our store is going to be spectacular."

Dinner progressed with multiple courses and constant encouragement to eat more, but as the evening wore on, the energy gradually shifted from manic to mellow. The younger children curled up on the sofa and the rug, their energy spent, and conversations became quieter, more intimate.

Din found himself actually enjoying the atmosphere, to his surprise. There was something deeply satisfying about being accepted into this extended family unit, even as a peripheral member.

"Time to go, Professor." Fenella patted his arm. "I need to change before my shift."

He was actually sorry to leave.

They made their rounds, saying goodbye, accepting hugs from the sisters and sticky kisses from some of the younger children.

Max caught them at the door. "Thanks for coming. Kyra and I plan to stop at the bar later on."

"Awesome." Fenella grinned. "Bring Jasmine and Ell-rom. They look like they could use some adult company after this."

They all looked at the couple. Jasmine was fine, but Ell-rom looked like he was pained.

"No worries," Max said. "I'll drag them to the Hobbit whether they want to go or not."

Once they were out the door, Fenella took Din's hand. "That was nice."

"It was," Din agreed. "Overwhelming, but nice."

"Could you see yourself with something like that? A big family, I mean?"

He smiled. "It's not in the cards for immortals. We'll be lucky to have one child." He frowned. "I mean, if you want that, and when you want that."

She laughed. "That's okay. You don't have to keep apologizing for thinking of our future and me as your mate."

"You're okay with that?"

"I just said that." Fenella stopped walking and turned to face him with a strange expression on her face.

"What?" he asked.

Instead of answering, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Not a quick peck or casual gesture, but something more intentional. When she pulled back, Din was breathless.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"I was exercising what I told Soraya earlier." Her hands still rested on his shoulders, her eyes serious. "Every moment in life needs to be cherished, not squandered in fear or hesitation. Life needs to be lived courageously."

"Fenella—"

"No, let me finish." She took a deep breath, and he could see her gathering her courage like armor. "Last night, when Max and the others were out there, all I could think about was how fragile everything is. Even immortal lives can be snuffed out in an instant."

Din stayed silent, sensing she needed to work through this at her own pace.

"I've been such a coward," she continued. "You've given me everything—patience, understanding, love—and I've given you scraps. Half-measures and almosts."

"That's not true?—"

"It is, or it was, but I'm done with that. I'm not going to live in fear anymore, and I'm not going to deny you what you deserve to hear me say."

Din's heart was pounding so hard he was sure she could feel it where her hands rested against his chest.

"I love you, Din."

The words hung in the air between them, simple and perfect and everything he'd waited for so long to hear. For a moment, he couldn't speak, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything but stare at the woman who'd just given him the gift he'd begun to think might never come.

"Say something," Fenella whispered, and he realized there was vulnerability in her eyes, as if she wasn't sure of his response even though he'd told her he loved her so many times before.

"I love you too," he said, the words rough with emotion. "Fates, Fenella, I love you so much I don't have words for it in any language, ancient or modern, and I speak over twenty-five of them."

She laughed. "Always the professor."

"Always your professor," he corrected, pulling her close. "For as long as you'll have me."

"Forever sounds about right," she murmured against his chest.

As they stood in the jasmine-scented darkness, holding each other, Din felt something fundamental shift in his chest, a locking into place of pieces that had been floating loose for half a century.

"We need to get home," he said eventually, though he didn't loosen his hold.

"We do," she agreed, not moving either.

"You'll be late, and Atzil will wonder where you are."

"Let him wonder," she said, but stepped back and continued walking.

Everything looked different somehow—the familiar paths, the houses they passed, even the stars above. The world hadn't changed, but Din's place in it had.

"I'm going to say it a lot now," Fenella warned as they reached Shira's house. "I love you at completely inappropriate times. While you're talking to others or grading papers or cooking steaks with Shira's apron on."

"I'll cope somehow," Din said dryly.

She grinned. "I love the way you use sarcasm when you're emotionally overwhelmed."

"I'm not emotionally overwhelmed."

"I love it when you lie badly, too."

He pulled her back for another kiss. "Go change for work before I decide to take you to bed instead."

"Tempting," she murmured against his lips. "But Fenella the psychometric bartender can't just not show up."

"I love you," he said, just because he could, because she'd finally given him permission to say it, knowing it would be returned.

"I love you too," she said easily, as if the words hadn't been trapped behind walls of fear for what had felt like eternity. "Now stop making me all emotional. I need to be funny and irreverent in less than an hour."

Later, as they walked toward the Hobbit, her I love you still echoed in his ears, and Din couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

"Hey," Fenella said as the Hobbit came into view. "Want to know what tonight's special reading theme is going to be?"

"Tell me."

"Love stories. Every object will have a secret romantic past that is either deeply moving or hilariously awkward."

"Knowing you, it will be both."

"I love that you know me so well," she said, then laughed. "God, I really am going to be insufferable with this, aren't I?"

"Completely," Din agreed. "It's going to be glorious."